Abu Sayyaf kidnap: IGP dismisses claims of another arrest made

"So far, only one person, Khadafi Muktadil has been arrested, at a hospital in the southern Philippines last week after the Abu Sayyaf member was involved in a road accident.

"Another person that has been detained is Saddam Jailani, who was arrested before Khadafi...we believe he was involved in guarding some of the kidnap victims," he said Saturday.

He said the extradition of the two suspects had been acknowledged to the Philippine authorities, and the Foreign Ministry and Attorney General's Chambers would ensure that they would be tried in Malaysia.

Saddam, Khadafi and his elder brother named Mindas are three individuals suspected of being involved in the abduction of a restaurant manager Thien Nyuk Fun and a tourist from Sarawak, Bernard Then Ted Fen at the Ocean King Restaurant in Sandakan.

Thien was released by their captors on Nov 8 while Then was beheaded nine days later.

Meanwhile, Khalid said he was informed by Thai authorities on Friday that the interview to record Xavier Andre Justo's statement relating to the investigation into 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had been postponed.

"The Thai authorities said they would let me know of the next date for the interview," he said.

Justo who is being detained in Bangkok, Thailand was supposed to give his statement on Tuesday (Dec 8).

In another development, Khalid said the recent series of shootings in Kajang were linked to gangsterism.

He said he had directed police to step up patrols in the area to ease residents' anxiety, while operations to hunt down the group were being carried out aggressively and continuously.